Philando Castile’s father fights for part of $3M settlement

Philando Castile’s father, who is serving a life term in federal prison, is fighting for a portion of the $ 3 million settlement reached in the fatal shooting of his son.

A Hennepin County judge Wednesday said she was likely to approve Valerie Castile’s proposal to receive the funds in their entirety after her legal team is paid, the Star Tribune reported. In a July petition written by attorney Robert Bennett, Castile claimed her son’s father, Phelix H. Frazier Sr., was not present and made no claims to any of the money.

Frazier said he was “totally blindsided by (Valerie Castile’s) lack of compassion,” adding he believed she would fairly distribute the settlement money to family members, including her daughter and Philando’s half-sister, Allysza Castile. He added he felt they both deserved $ 500,000 apiece.

“It was not just Valeries’ loss,” he wrote from a Greenville penitentiary, noting that while he and his son did not maintain the strongest relationship, that he did deserve a portion of the funds.

“On some level I believe I will miss Philando (more) than most because of what we ‘were not’ able to do together.”

Bennett previously reached out to 16 of Castile’s relatives, asking if they’d like to make a claim on the funds. Frazier wrote back July 5, only crediting Valerie Castile with raising their son.

Philando Castile was fatally shot by former St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop last year. In June, the officer was acquitted on charges of manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm. Philando’s girlfriend and her young daughter were in the vehicle during the fatal traffic stop in July 2016.

District Judge Susan Robiner Wednesday offered her condolences to Valerie Castile. She said she would take the proposal under advisement and intends to issue her decision promptly, the Tribune reported.

Robiner said that while she was “impressed” with Frazier’s objections to the proposal, that he did not qualify for any of the funds. He’s currently serving a life sentence for a heroin trafficking ring described by the Eighth Circuit court as “an organized and complex enterprise,” according to the newspaper.

Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, proposed she receive the settlementin her son’s fatal shooting in its entirety.

(Renee Jones Schneider/AP)

In the plan outlined by Bennet, they also said Allysza Castile was not fit to receive any of the money due to “elements” in her life “that are not conducive to her receipt of a large sum of money at this time.”

Robiner on Wednesday said the younger Castile was a strong candidate for the money, but Allysza said she trusted her mother, before breaking down in tears, according to the Tribune.

“They’ve always taken care of me,” she told the judge. “I don’t feel I need anything distributed to me.”